In praise of stuff

I keep just one room for the can't bear to get rid of and being mainly books and photographs.I feel I should as all this is doing is giving the responsibility to my children who I can hear saying what on earth did she keep this for.

My son works estate sales- The excess and waste is tremendous- When you think of the overall energy it takes to produce material, manufacture the goods, distribute the goods globally to ports, to stores, to homes, to the waste bin, to the landfill or shipped back out to sea to other countries to be recycled .. All the the energy involved for a "thing" that ends up being useless .. and pollutes the planet ..

Add to that the people that travel sometimes thousands of miles to carry out the emptying the contents of houses ..

It's not a judgement shot- But the excess and energy is shocking ..

I think William Morris had it about right:

"Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." (I think beauty could also cover items that have emotional value for you, such as children's first paintings, photos, etc.)

Totally agree in theory with throwing away clothes not worn in last 12 mths and clearing out other stuff but when it comes down to actually doing same it's a different matter entirely especially where clothes are concerned. When you once didn't have very much at all it's incredibly difficult to throw things away - just in case.

I still have loads of stuff because it reminds me of my long life. I have thrown out fiction books but still enjoy books on art and artists and use reference books. Have loads of photos including ones of my grandparents taken in the 1890s and myself from the age of three months and my grandchildren’s school photos. My grandson recently asked to see them.
If everyone threw out everything there would be no Bargain Hunt or Antiques Road show. I had kept a brass fox head door knocker from a previous house. A similar one was sold recently on Bargain Hunt for £150. I gave mine to a grandson who had just moved into a new house.
My son who will have the task of clearing all this stuff, hastold me He will be happy to do so.

We're decluttering just now. When our first grandchild was born 7 years ago I went mad and bought loads of toys and books in charity shops. We have a room full of it. Now we're clearing out as we're decorating. I must say I am shocked at the amount we had. Many visits to charity shops this week. I actually pity the volunteers having to sort so much stuff.

As for wool I have lots. I've been working my way through it knitting baby cardigans, hats etc., I hope to give my bag of knits to Womans Aid as women arrive with their children without anything. Any wool I don't like goes to the charity shop. They say it's sold as soon as it hits the shelves.

He still has his Muffin The Mule Club Membership Card !
I still have mine too. No need to get rid of small vintage memorabilia like that, they take up very little room. It's the magazines, clothes, books, ornaments etc. that take up space and often have very little nostalgic value.

davida1968 I found Marie Kondo helpful too, when I moved from the family house I’d lived For 30+ years in to a two bedroom apartment. She was especially helpful, to me, in dealing with the emotional side of moving house. No, she doesn’t advocate minimalism, she writes about enjoying the things we own, and getting rid of things that we don’t enjoy, or have just accumulated without thought. Just the sort of thing people are writing about here. I found it really good to get rid of things I’d been given that I didn’t really like, such as ornaments given by relatives that had to be out in case they visited. All those relatives are now dead. However, the little tchotchkes my children have given me over the years- candles, a seal made from shells, stones they have painted themselves, various things with “mum” written on them that they bought back from school trips, these I still have, in a glass display cabinet I bought from a shop that was closing down. As for death cleaning, I do think it’s a good idea, having helped clear my mother in law’s house and found clothes still with their labels attached and unworn shoes in boxes. Perhaps those who think Marie Kondo is “nuts” should read her book.

We did get in a skip a couple of years ago, and practically emptied the garage, it was lovely! Noticed at the weekend, looking for grandsons scooter, that you can hardly get in the door again!

I am with Chestnut. I downsized from a 4 bedroomed house to a small flat 7 years ago, so there was obviously a lot to be gotten rid of. But I will never forget having to fly to the west coast of America to completely clear my mum's big house, full of crap stuff and I had about a week to do it. I cannot imagine my daughter having to do that, so I get rid of 'stuff' on a regular basis. However there are ancient family letters and photos (not too many) that I absolutely must label and paperwork to get in order. The rest she would be able to do in a couple of days.

Well to be honest although I have a lot of what ppl would call clutter I love stuff, but the time has come to give lots to charity shop, I actually envy ppl that can be minimalistic , I don’t think it looks soulless I think it looks great, but it’s not me ?? . I’m a stuff person but even me thinks I’ve got too much, I realised that when my adult kids come round and say mum have you got so n so and yes I always have lol

I had to downsize drastically when I bought a narrow boat to live on two years ago. Even my craft stuff was sorted. Stacks of stuff including books went to the British Heart Foundation. Have to say I have bought a lot of new books. I read Marie Kondo and it helped. I am still sorting clothes...my 80 skirts became 40. I never wear them but they are gorgeous. They have to go...I need the space they take up. I really need to read my Marie Kondo book again....wanders off contemplating the the meaning of life, the universe and everything and everything

I agree Maw- I like my 'stuff' too but I do so wish DH would ditch a lot of his- you cannot get into this study & it is starting to spread all over the house. He gets 'phases' of trying a new hobby- buying all the 'stuff' needed & then going on to something new!!
I dread to think what it will be like when he retires- I may have to leave home so he has enough space!

Loislovesstewie, I live with a hoarder too.

He still has his Muffin The Mule Club Membership Card !

He's 70 next March.

That's my Husband - not Muffin The Mule.

Not entirely worthless rosecarmel judging by what Time Team and other archaelogists find centuries later.

One day, 'A Present for Blackpool' trinket might be worth thousands

'Death Clean'? Ye gods, who does that, The Grim Sweeper?

Am I the only GN who likes Marie Kondo? (She does not advocate minimalism!) I found her advice to be a real help, when we moved to a smaller (and easier) home last year. A lot of stuff went to charity shops and we haven't regretted a single "donated" item.

Ideally I'd live a Marie Kondo life. I hate clutter, nicknacks, and stuff - keep having clearouts but something happens and stuff accumulates!

I need to tackle the drawers full of cables, chargers, and more stuff - I had a go recently but came across a box of photos and spent the day going through them and feeling nostalgic and a bit sad.

We have stuff - mainly books, in fact every room in the house has at least one bookcase. The study has bookshelves all around to the ceiling. We also have all the stuff our children didn’t want to take with them when they left as apparently we have more room.!

We did go up into the loft a week or too back to start to sort it out - but he chickened out, found the excuse that there -may- be a town garage sale next year and the ceilings are still bending gently.

DH loves Stuff. But he doesn’t organise it and gets annoyed when I try to. Well, it annoys me when he comes home with something when I know full well we have at least one, often more, of the same item - somewhere. My Stuff is organised.

I’m a bit in the middle ( although I think that Marie woman is nuts!) I had to declutter from a 3 bed house to a 1 bed flat when I moved and have very limited storage here so got rid of quite a bit of stuff.

However I am not minimalist. I have a dresser full of coloured glass that I have collected and a large bookcase full of books. I kept collections of favourite authors and all my history and counselling books and got rid of the rest. I don’t want Alexa and have a lot of CD’s but they live in the TV cupboard so out of sight. Knitting and photographs live in an ottoman so I feel my flat is tidy most of the time but I have things around me that I really love. ( and all the cards DGD’s have given me of course they are VERY important! )

I love decluttering. I don't consciously do it, but given that I've got a very peripatetic lifestyle, it happens everytime I move. I'm an English teacher and a voracious reader. I used to have hundreds of books. For my last major move, I got rid of 3/4 of my books. I kept those I will reread OR will use in my work but other than that... out and good riddance.

The house stays tidier with less stuff in it.

I’ve never heard of Marie Kondo either, nor have I heard the term ‘death clean’

I do keep on top of things more than I used to, after my mother in law died, she had so much stuff from the past fifty years or more, I decided to try and spare my children such a massive job.

But I’m not ready to part with too much yet, I don’t feel the need to, and you never know when you’re going to need twenty jugs, dozens of mugs, drawers full of wool, if there’s a prolonged power cut, I’d have enough candles to last for weeks

But I like my stuff tidy, can’t bear lots of muddle.

P.S. I’ve never heard of Marie Kondo?.

I have stuff.

Childhood books, cheap little presents the children bought us, like a pottery otter, a red rose ( now devoid of colour) and of course untold books, always two or three on the go at the same time, depending on my mood, so I go from very easy read to quite heavy stuff . I have ornaments and flowers from the garden, knitting and my paints. Projects (preserving autumn leaves at the moment) on the go. Far too many clothes.
And of course my beloved dog, although he definitely isn’t stuff, he is a person in his own right with his own stuff, like mick the monkey, and his day bed downstairs and his night bed upstairs.
My garden is the same, stuffed full of plants, and littered with bird seed dropped from the feeders.

I have a friend whose house is entirely empty of clutter. Every surface is empty, every wall is bare. Dusting must be a dream. Everything is white or cream, and I feel like Mrs Bucket’s neighbour when I go for coffee or afternoon tea. Shoes off at the door and stockinged feet for the duration of the visit?.It is pristine and clean to an inch of its life. Flowers stand upright and are cleared as soon as the slightest sign of decay.

Both of us living the life we prefer. Nothing wrong with either.